Psalm 34:1-3 ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’

DAILY READING; • John 18:38-19:16; 2 Chronicles 29; Psalm 85

Jeanne Gowen Dennis is a speaker, author and TV producer. In her book, ‘Running Barefoot on Holy Ground’, she shares the story of how God delivered her from a catastrophic storm. In July 1990 the state of Colorado was hit by one of the most disastrous hailstorms in its history, causing roughly $625 million in estimated damages.
That day, Jeanne and her friend had taken their daughters on a summer outing. The little girls were having fun skating. However Jeanne soon noticed an indigo-gray cloud on the northern horizon. This meant a storm was brewing. She quickly alerted her friend, but while they were still trying to gather their picnic things, the storm began to bear down with alarming speed, it was so fierce that there was no time even for the kids to remove their skating shoes. The mothers pulled and dragged their skating daughters along as they raced to the parking lot. As the wind began raging furiously around them, soon the thunder storm started.
Amid the chaotic situation, the 2 mothers and their 3 daughters scrambled into the car. Driving home in the furiously raging storm seemed unthinkable, but there was no other choice. As Jeanne drove, golf ball–size hail, mercilessly pelted the car, threatening to shatter the car windows.
Afraid of what could happen, Jeanne began to pray asking God for divine protection. Jeanne recalled her Bible reading that morning of how King Jehoshaphat and his army praised God and God fought their battle (2 Chronicles 20:1-24).
And so she asked everyone in the car to begin to praise God. They sang “Awesome God.” They sang very loudly, trying to drown out the noise of the storm with their voices. Though the car skidded all the way home, surprisingly, the windows held firm and they arrived safely.
Jeanne only realized the magnitude of what had happened when she heard from the News that many cars similarly caught in the storm were either wrecked beyond repair, or had shattered windows and other damages. But the car in which they sang praises to God had no damage at all—not even one dent.

Indeed when we chose to fight our battles with the weapons of praise and joy, God’s power to deliver arises. Praise moves God into action. Though God is everywhere, He does not work everywhere. It is when we create the right atmosphere of praise that He steps in.
When praise is on, God is up. And when God arises mountains and obstacles are moved out of the way. When we create an atmosphere of praise, God comes to inhabit it. And when God appears every evil disappears. Just as light and darkness cannot cohabit, problems cannot stand where God’s Presence abides.
Learning to give God praise through the storm is one of the greatest lessons we can learn about how to navigate through life’s seasons.
Circumstances do not dictate your life. Whatever you may be going through now, someone else has gone through it and succeeded. So, it’s not your circumstance, it is your approach to it and what is inside of you.
In Psalm 34 David wrote, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.’
David wrote this psalm during a particularly stormy season in his life. He had gone through what could have caused other men to despair and give up. This was the time he had learned that Saul intended to kill him, so he had fled and faced dangers on his way and then he sought refuge from Achish, king of Gath, but when he realized he could be killed, he had to pretend to be a mad man, so as to escape.[ 1 Samuel 21:10-15]
Yet in the midst of all this David still wrote ‘I will bless The Lord at all times.’
And because David maintained his joy even in the storm, God protected him and delivered him and elevated him above his enemies.
And so shall be it for us also. As we continue to give God praise and bless Him at all times, surely He will protect and deliver us and give us continual victory.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank and praise You for indeed You have done all things well for me. Thank You Lord for all Your faithfulness towards me and my family. May the flow of Your praise continually be in my mouth at all times in Jesus Name. .

QUOTE

Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222.